Tuesday, 17 May 2016

Thiruvananthapuram:Kerala Forest
Department has been conducting physical auctions at 35 government timber depots
under six timber sales divisional forest offices in the state. As a part of
increasing the transparency and adding more credibility to the auction process,
KFD has stopped the traditional auction method and has embraced the e-auctions
through MSTC Limited.

The agreement
between MSTC and KFD was signed on 30th September 2014 and the e-auctions were
hosted from 19th November 2014. The e-auctions for the six Timber Sales
Divisions started on 19th November 2014. A special registration for Rs 500 with a
limit of 5 CUM (8 CUM with effect from 1st August 2015) of timber for
individuals was suggested by KFD and the same had been implemented by MSTC.
This helps the individuals who are constructing their own house to purchase
timber directly from KFD through e-auction, without worrying about the higher
rates in the open market.

Over 1000
individuals have registered with MSTC and have successfully participated and
purchased timber for the construction of their own house. In addition to the
success of timber e-auction, Sandalwood sold by Marayoor Sandal Division,
Kerala Forest Department was also auctioned through MSTC.

Buyers from all
over the country successfully participated in the e-auction. An increment of
over 50 per cent on the starting price was witnessed along with a record rate
(Rs 14,710 per kg) in the history of Sandal auctions. In addition to the
material value, Government also had benefits in the terms of VAT, FDT, TCS etc
which sums up to about 23 per cent of the material value for all the auctions
conducted by KFD.

A sale value of Rs
35 crores was obtained for the Timber e-auctions conducted from 19th November
2014 to 31st March 2015. In
2015-16 the total sale value for Timber auctions was Rs 167 crores which
provided over Rs 38 crores as various taxes to the government.

With the
introduction of e-auctions, KFD has successfully eliminated the cartel
formation within the buyers, thereby ensuring the maximum sale value. E-auction
has provided the liberty to bid online for the individual buyers at the comfort
of their home, office or even during travel without facing any competition or
resistance from the timber merchants.

Further to the
success of timber and Sandal e-auctions, Kerala government has entrusted MSTC
for the disposal of vehicles, scrap and other materials from all departments of
Kerala government, all over the state through e-auctions.

The auctions for
the same have been successfully started from July 1st last year. So far over Rs
2 crores have been obtained as sale value through the disposal of scrap,
vehicles, e-waste etc for various departments of the government.

MSTC has thereby
played the crucial role in facilitating e-Sale in the state of Kerala for
various government departments.

MSTC Ltd has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mahindra Intertrade for a joint initiative to set up India's first auto shredding facility. The proposed facility will be equipped with state-of-art, fully automated end-of-life vehicle recycling equipment and will be India's first such facility. This is expected to facilitate recycling of scrapped automobiles .

Speaking on the occasion, S K Tripathi, Chairman & managing Director, MSTC Ltd, said, " MSTC is always looking at innovative ways to recycle scrap and protect the enviromnent and this facility will help to participate in the emission targets which India has promised to fulfill via the COP 21 Emission Treaty."

Thursday, 12 May 2016

Mahindra Intratrade has signed a MoU with MSTC Ltd for a joint initiative to set up India's first auto shredding facility. The proposed facility will be equipped with state-of-the-art, fully automated end-of-life vehicle recycling equipment and will be India's first such facility. This is expected to facilitate recycling of scrapped automobiles. Speaking on the occasion, Chairman & Managing Director, MSTC LTd, S K Tripathi, said, "MSTC is always looking at innovative ways to recycle scrap and protect the environment and this facility will help to participate in the emission targets which India has promised to fulfill via the COP 21 Emission Treaty." So far, auto-shredding in India has been largely an unorganized activity with vehicles long past their usable life still in use, especially in rural and semi-urban India. " The concept of vehicle scrappage is still new to India as compared to the West where it is a lucrative industry. Recycling, if done correctly, is not only environment friendly but will also help keep older vehicles off the streets." said Zhooben Bhiwandiwala, Managing Partner, Mahindra Partners.

Monday, 9 May 2016

A Supreme Court-appointed panel has
recommended replacing the current e-auction of iron ore mining in Karnataka
with an alternative system to enable mineral producers and steel companies to
sign long-term supply contracts, improve margins, check under-pricing and raise
state government revenues.

The Centrally Empowered Committee
(CEC), which is currently overseeing the mineral’s auction in the southern
state, has told the SC that the present system of e-auction be replaced by a
state government-monitored system.

In its September 2, 2011 order, the
Supreme Court had appointed a CEC to oversee the e-auction of iron ore from
Karnataka. The committee had, in turn, formed a monitoring committee to carry
out the orders.

In a report submitted to the Supreme
Court last month, the CEC has proposed that the new system will work on the
lines of an online marketplace allowing iron ore producers and end-users such
as steel companies to ink long-term deals in a government-monitored transparent
structure.

Such a system will also rule out
under-pricing by the iron ore producers that can potentially distort the market.

The CEC report comes after the
Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI), a mining industry body, moved
the Supreme Court seeking a halt on e-auction for sale of iron ores in
Karnataka. The court had asked CEC to reply to FIMI’s plea.

The court had ordered e-auctions of the
mineral monitored and overseen by the CEC amid widespread allegation of illegal
mining and depletion of forest reserves in the state.

Small and local private miners,
however, have alleged that the e-auction mechanism in Karnataka was restrictive
with one dominant supplier –state-owned NMDC--limiting free and fair price
discovery.

A petition filed in the Karnataka High
Court by Samaj Parivarthana Samudaya has alleged that the base price set by
NMDC in Karnataka e-auctions are at a substantial discount to the international
iron ore prices.

For instance, it said that NMDC’s
landed ore has averaged over Rs 2,000 per tonne. The local mining industry is
of the view that the artificially low prices set by NMDC is hurting smaller mining
players in the state, leading to pile up of inventory.

NMDC said that the price discovery
system under the e-auction route is transparent.

“Pricing of iron ore, either by NMDC or
small miners, is set by the companies themselves based on market dynamics.
NMDC, being the only PSU in merchant mining, follows a transparent pricing
system, and prices are set on a monthly basis. In Karnataka, all miners are
free to set their floor prices of iron ore,” NMDC told HT in an emailed
response.

The new method that CEC has proposed
will provide for “system of online checks and balances to ensure that sale and
purchase has not taken place substantially below the market value,” the CEC
report of April 28, which HT has reviewed, said.

Under the proposed system, the buyer-seller
agreements will be recorded online. Sellers will have to disclose the minimum
acceptable price and product details including moisture and alumina content in
iron ore. Bids offered by buyers will be put up on a real-time basis.